Beloved Asian elephant Suki, who spent nearly 30 years at Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium in Tacoma, was euthanized Saturday after her health began to deteriorate over the past several weeks, the zoo announced.
She was 60. The median life expectancy of female Asian elephants in human care is 48, according to the zoo.
"We lost a special member of our zoo family yesterday and our staff and community are grieving," said Zoo Director Alan Varsik in a statement. "Suki's long life says a lot about the high quality of care she received over the 28 years that Point Defiance Zoo was her home."
Suki was diagnosed with tuberculosis in 2019 and had chronic arthritis and uterine tumors, similar to fibroids, according to the zoo.
More recently, Suki had been showing signs of increasing discomfort and cognitive decline, possibly the result of a stroke or other neurological disease, according to the zoo.
Zoo officials say that when she refused supportive care on Saturday, the veterinary and animal care teams made the decision to euthanize her.
"With Suki's advanced age, chronic medical conditions, and significant decline in health, humane euthanasia was the only compassionate course of action," said Dr. Karen Wolf, the zoo's head veterinarian, in a statement.
Suki was the last remaining elephant at the zoo, following the earlier euthanization and death of Hanako in 2020. It's the end of an era in more ways than one: Zoo leaders long ago decided that the elephant exhibit would close permanently after their deaths.
"We don't have a plan for that space yet," spokesperson Tessa Miller said.
Suki, a former circus elephant, came to Tacoma in 1996. Dubbed "Suki the Terrible" in a News Tribune headline at the time, she brought something of a reputation, including an unclear role in the deaths of two handlers who worked with her at the circus, according to news archives.
According to zoo officials, Point Defiance Zoo was among a handful of zoos pioneering the use of "protected contact" in which elephants and their keepers never share the same space.
Zoo officials say Suki thrived in that environment.
"Suki was a very smart elephant with a big personality," said Elephant Manager Shannon Smith who cared for Suki for over two decades. "She loved eating watermelon and banana leaves, splashing in her pools, and getting her tongue gently scratched. She was an extraordinary animal and will be deeply missed by everyone who knew her."
Suki would present her feet, trunk, mouth and ears to her care team so they could identify any health issues, and she stood patiently every day as her keepers washed her feet and filed her nails, according to the zoo.
And after she lost her last set of teeth, her keepers thinly sliced her vegetables and fruit, soaked her hay pellets, chopped her hay, and removed the rinds from her watermelon, according to the zoo.
"Our highly skilled veterinary and animal care teams provided Suki with comprehensive and compassionate care every day," said Malia Somerville, the zoo's general curator.
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